Ledley makes his point

Ledley King insists our focus will not shift away from improving our points tally and climbing up the Premier League.

Ledley King insists our focus will not shift away from improving our points tally and climbing up the Premier League.

The skipper spoke matter-of-factly after Sunday's 1-0 defeat against Everton, our first home loss under Harry Redknapp's management.

Pre-match, it was seen as a chance to jump to within to a point of the Toffees - now seventh - but post-match, the disappointment was tangible.

"We can't let our focus go from the league and how important it is to pick up as many points as we can," reflected Ledley as we prepare to step back into cup action with a Carling Cup quarter-final at Watford on Wednesday night.

"Every time we lose a game it's a wake-up call.

"You only have to look at the league table to see how tight it is. This was a good opportunity for us to push away from that group but every time we lose a game we're right back in it. There is still a lot of work to be done."

Harry Redknapp was unhappy with Everton's winning goal as Steven Pienaar fired home from the edge of the box after picking up a quick free-kick from Mikel Arteta.

"We switched off for a split-second and that has cost us," added Ledley.

"It was one of those games when we didn't create too much but as I've said before, when you have days like that, you need to grind out a 0-0 and take a point."